Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Krakow Buses Tourist Unfriendly

I got a $50 ticket on my first ever Krakow public transportation ride. I still am pretty upset over it. We decided to ride the bus to the Wieczskla salt mine from Old Town, since there's a direct route. Andreas bought tickets, but could not find the language button, so he tried to do it all in Polish. Needless to say, he messed up. An inspector came on board the bus several stops down the road and made a beeline to the only obvious tourists on the bus - us. He asked for our tickets, and Andreas handed over what he thought was the correct thing. The guy started shouting at us in Polish, refusing to speak any other language. Granted, he might not speak any other language, but his whole demeanor was very hostile. Long story short, he fined me for not having a ticket. We had to pay on the spot. He didn''t even bother to check anyone else, and left the bus at the next stop. It was pretty obviously a case of tourist harassment, especially as he tried to do it to us again a few days later when we rode the same bus again. By that time, Andreas had figured out where the English language button was.

We love Krakow, but we hate this kind of harassment on the bus. It can turn a decent holiday into misery, especially as it seems to be a deliberate policy on at least one inspector's part.